Philadelphia 76ers Notebook: Collins having to improvise for loss of Young

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins calls a play against the Orlando Magic in the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, in Philadelphia. The 76ers won 78-61.(AP Photo H. Rumph Jr)

The 76ers coach went with Spencer Hawes and Kwame Brown, an unlikely frontcourt pairing, out of the gate, and said rookie Arnett Moultrie will continue getting minutes off the bench — beginning with their meeting with Indiana.

Without Young, their top rebounder who’s out at least three weeks with a left hamstring strain, the Sixers are scratching their heads in search of the best combinations down low. Hawes, more of a finesse player who thrives away from the basket, will shy away from defensive assignments near the basket. And Lavoy Allen has played well of late in his off-the-bench capacity. That left only Brown as a viable option to start at center.

“I’ll start Kwame against (the Pacers’ Roy) Hibbert,” Collins said in pregame. “We did that last time, when we were in Indiana. Hopefully he can take away some of his post. Hibbert can swing in there with both left or right hands. He’s so tall.

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“Spencer has trouble with backing him down and (Hibbert) is so much bigger than Lavoy. One thing you lose with Thad is, defensively, Hibbert is a guy who drops and plugs.”

Brown saw time for only the sixth game in the Sixers’ last 22.

Elsewhere, Moultrie — an afterthought at one stretch this season — is suddenly a low-post savior. The Sixers issued Moultrie, who was getting so little time, a D-League assignment back in December. With Young’s injury, however, Moultrie has become a go-to guy.

“He’s getting a better feel what he needs to do,” Collins said. “He’s got to be very active. That’s got to be his card. We’re going to need him.

“We’re going to need all of our bigs.”

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The next step, perhaps the biggest, in Andrew Bynum’s rehabilitation is on the way, Sixers general manager Tony DiLeo said.

To this point, Bynum’s knees have relegated the center to individual workouts. Graduating to 1-on-1 and beyond could demonstrate just how ready Bynum is to debut with the Sixers.

“I always said, too, the most critical part of his rehab is coming up,” DiLeo said. “When he practices, bangs, jumps, moves — that’s really the most critical part. We’ll just have to see how he reacts during that phase. He’s doing more movements, moving laterally and things like that, but he hasn’t been out there doing 1-on-1 yet.”

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Amidst the Sixers’ longest homestand, Jason Richardson took a roadtrip.

The guard spent the morning at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, getting a third opinion on his bum left knee. He visited with Jonathan Glashow, an orthopaedic surgeon.

Richardson has missed the last eight games with left knee synovitis. He already has had team physician Jack McPhilemy and Richard Steadman, a Vail, Colo.,- based knee specialist.

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Shelvin Mack’s future with the Sixers is uncertain.

The guard’s 10-day contract, his second with the team, expired Wednesday at midnight. The Sixers had until then to decide whether to sign Mack long-term or waive him. It’s probably going to be the latter. Mack has shown little in his three appearances, in which he’s totaled seven minutes, for the Sixers.